In 2019, as Americans tuned in to the final episode of Game of Thrones, Japan was indulgingin the world of a television hit, I Will Not Work Overtime, Period!. The TV show features a heroine,Yui Higashiyama, a 30-something project manager who wants nothing more than to get out of theoffice on time and into her favorite bar for happy hour. This rocks the fictional web design firmwhere she works—how could she dare to leave work at 6 p.m. sharp?        In Japan, workers put in some of the world’s longest hours. In 2017 alone, over a quarter of thecountry’s full-time employees worked an average of more than 49 hours a week, according to agovernment report, effectively working six out of seven days. In some extreme cases, thatcommitment to the workplace can lead to death. In 2017, government data showed, overworkclaimed 190 lives—in the form of exhaustion, heart attacks, suicides—a figure that has stayed moreor less constant over the last decade.        The reasons people work so much are complex, said Yoshie Komuro, chief executive of WorkLife Balance, a consulting firm that helps employers reduce their employees’ overtime. In additionto cultural attitudes about the value of hard work, some employers reduce costs by relying onovertime, and employees work longer hours for the extra pay and to please the boss—promotionsoften depend more on time spent at a desk than actual productivity. “I was extremely conscious thattaking a break meant slacking off,” said Kaeruko Akeno, a writer whose novel inspired the show. “Ittook such a long time for me to accept the fact that it’s O.K. to not work on weekends or onweekday nights.”       Ms. Akeno based the novel on her own experiences of office life in Japan. When Ms. Akenograduated from college in the early 2000s, Japan was in a deep slowdown, and work was hard tofind. Many people her age ended up bouncing between temp jobs or dropping out of the workforceentirely. People who came of age at the time “have insecurities about employment,” she said. “Wefear that if we aren’t useful to companies, we will be discarded.”        The Japanese government has now taken measures to reduce long hours and change culturalnorms around work. For instance, a new law took effect limiting overtime to no more than 45 hoursa month and 360 hours per year, barring special circumstances. And Japan’s Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry has promoted a program called Premium Fridays, asking employers to letemployees leave a few hours early on the last Friday of every month.        Even though the government and younger workers are pushing for shorter work days, olderemployees who were raised on the idea that work trumps all just can’t seem to get comfortable withthe idea of working a 40-hour week. What holds her co-workers back are employees andsupervisors who simply cannot stop themselves. “Ultimately, the system always depends onsomeone pushing themselves to the limit,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “The problem is the Japanesesystem of work, where excess is the norm.” Ms. Akeno said that culture permeated other parts ofJapanese life. “What is considered honorable isn’t how much you achieve, but how you manage tonever take a rest,” she said.        When TBS announced the show’s title, some online commentators were appalled. “They werelike, ‘Isn’t going home on time normal?’” said Junko Arai, the show’s producer. “‘If something soobvious is the basis for a drama, Japan’s in serious trouble.’”
【題組】33. Even if the Japanese government has taken action to stop people from working too long,people insist on doing this. What is the reason for such a phenomenon?
(A) The government’s policies fail to work and backfire.
(B) The company still does not allow workers to leave early.
(C) The idea of working long hours is ingrained in Japanese people.
(D) The Japanese really like their jobs and are willing to work overtime.